Abstract. Schizophrenia is a heterogenic disease with chronic course and is among the top-leading causes of disability in the world. In spite of the numerous studies in search of defining nosological boundaries, etiopathogenesis, clinical manifestation, and therapeutic response, there is so far no convincing evidence applicable to all patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia. In addition, heterogeneity of the disease is also found in its course as demonstrated in large follow-up studies. The many faces of the disorder determine lack of precise diagnostics sometimes implying the risk of iatrogenic use of unnecessary medication therapies and stigmatization, or, alternatively, may cause underestimation of the clinical picture and failure to apply efficacious therapeutic interventions. There is lack of convincing data on predictive factors for response to therapy and on division of the diverse group of schizophrenic patients according to the therapeutic response. Therefore, the paper presents the methodology of a study with naturalistic and non-interventional design including one-year prospective follow-up, which is aimed at identification of predictive factors of therapeutic response in schizophrenia.

Key words: schizophrenia, therapeutic response, predictors, methodology

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